Yoga to support a habitual life

In order to survive successfully in our challenging world, we learn to habituate certain activities. Anything we do repetitively almost inevitably becomes a habit directly impacting our bodies.

Think of all the things you do that create repetitive muscle use. Driving to work, your job, especially if you have a physical one, like gardening and even doing hobbies and sports. Imagine a violinist and the effects to their neck and shoulders holding a violin in the same position for years on end.

Your activities develop your body to support you during movement, but done repetitively can and will cause imbalances, like wear and tear to joints, pain and maybe long term physical issues.

The condition Repetitive Strain Injury is just that, muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones used one too many times in the same way and the body starts screaming in pain. Repair from this point can be much harder if you don’t bring awareness to your movements and be openly receptive to the feedback your body is giving you, rather than ignore it.

No movement

There are also the ‘no movement’ positions that can train habitual patterns into your body. The most common, sitting at a desk and laptop for hours on end. Don’t I know it! Common physical ailments derived from this include chronic neck and shoulder tension and a bad back.

Also which seat do you sit in at home to watch TV? If you sit in the same place each evening and in roughly the same position, some of your muscles will be shorter and eventually tighter and some overly elongated.

Long months and years of sedentary sitting is detrimental for your spine and nervous system. My osteopath believes many people on blood pressure medication for example, need not be on it because it is more to do with trapped nerves in the neck and upper ribs through poor posture than genuinely being a heart issue. Scary but true.

The balm of Yoga

I love Yoga so much because it is my life companion and the essential ‘assist’ for my body and mind. Through the practise of Yoga you are able to break these often unconscious patterns of habitual movement and restore equilibrium and balance within your body, emotions and mind.

Yeah but how?

Well my advice, as always, is to take up Yoga right now without delay, but here is an example of why I think it’s important.

Going back to the example of sitting at a desk/laptop for hours. Depending on the natural curvature of your spine, your back muscles will become generally lengthened and chest muscles shortened. You need to relieve and stretch the front body muscles first to relieve your back muscles. Quite obvious really.

Doing Cobra pose (Bhughangasana) for example, you stretch the front body muscles and give the back a rest while bending the spine in the opposite direction to the way your spine is when you sit for long hours. This sets up a positive balance point to allow your body to start to reset it’s natural posture and rhythm.